Iowa coach wants to see arena fill back up with fans

Iowa basketball coach Todd Lickliter would like to see the home court become an advantage, again. Despite improved play on the court attendance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been dismal so far this season. Through six games an average of eight thousand, 588 tickets have been sold but many of those people aren’t even showing up leaving the arena at least two-thirds empty on game night.

Lickliter says every game would be great to fill the arena, and he says it hurts him to know that it has been done before, because he knows it is possible. Lickliter says his guys are trying to play the right way. The arena opened in 1983 and average attendance was above 15,000 nearly every year until 2003. It has been plunging ever since.

Lickliter says if it had never been full, that would have been one thing, but he says there have been numerous seasons where it has been full and he wants to see it happen again. Iowa’s next home game is tomorrow night against Iowa State.